Advice for a newbie - what would you do?

[Jodie Steen]

Hello, BiggerPockets members!  This is my first post, and I'm hoping some member with more experience than me will weigh in : )

My husband and I house hacked in Brooklyn (I didn't even know what that was until I found BiggerPockets, but we did it).  We bought 6 years ago and now we are sitting on a lot of equity - about 1.4 million.  I'm trying to figure out how to put that money to work for us.  One option is long distance real estate investing.  I'm thinking of a better performing market for buy and hold, small multifamily. 

The other option would be building an addition on our existing home, and turn the one bedroom rental into a two bedroom, perhaps making it an Airbnb rental.  (This is legal in our area because of our building class).  That would also allow for a large master kitchen in our triplex.  Our neighbors Airbnb their 2 bedroom on our block and make about $5k per month as a reference point.

Any ideas as to how to access equity or how to start are welcome and appreciated.  Thank you!